not.'
Rose shook her head. 'Merlin's magic is different, isn't it? He gets it as much from nature as he does from his wizarding heritage. He couldn't teach her how to find the magic inside her because there wasn't any there. Judith had no witch in her blood. But he could teach her how to use the magic in nature. A little, at least. She just needed to know enough to be able to protect herself, so Merlin taught her how to alter her appearance. That way, she could go to the markets unnoticed. She had to, because Hadyn had put a price on her capture. Things seemed to be working just fine for them, and it looked like Merlin was going to marry her. But then… well, it gets really awful.'
'What?' James insisted, enthralled by the story.
'Well, they caught her, of course,' Rose said breathlessly. 'She got careless. The magical disguise was perfect. Nobody knew who she was at the markets in the fiefdom. But someone saw her use a little of Merlin's magic. She fixed a broken wheel on a boy's cart, just by holding the pieces together and saying an incantation Merlin had taught her. The wood knitted back together, fixing the wheel, but someone saw it happen. They told the fiefdom brutes, who were always hanging around the market. They captured Judith and took her to Hadyn in his castle.'
'I bet Merlin wanted to kill them all,' James said meaningfully. 'I mean, she was just trying to help. What'd he do?'
'He didn't know where she was at first, but he tracked her down. He's apparently very good at that, being able to talk to the birds and creatures and trees. Hadyn knew Merlin would show up. He told the guards to let Merlin through, right into the lord's hall. Merlin didn't even waste time on the guards, though. He just put them all to sleep and stalked right up to Hadyn, demanding the release of Judith. Hadyn was all oily and slick. He told Merlin he had every intention of giving her back, but only if Merlin agreed to return the farm, remove the thorn hedge, and as a tribute of respect, double the fiefdom's lands.'
James furrowed his brow. 'Double the lands?'
'Everything was about land back then. The bigger a lord's fiefdom, the wealthier he was. Hadyn's plan was to use Merlin to steal land from neighboring fiefs. He also made Merlin promise to leave the fief forever and bestow his protection over the castle, which included protection from Merlin himself! Hadyn was really crafty and evil. He knew that as soon as Merlin had Judith back, he'd probably destroy the castle and everyone in it. But with Merlin's spell of protection, not only could the castle never be overtaken, Merlin himself couldn't touch a single brick or harm a single hair of anyone inside it.'
'He didn't do it, did he?' James asked.
Rose nodded. 'He did. He was that madly in love with Judith. He left and went out into the neighboring fiefdoms. There is no record of how he did it, but when he came back, he presented Hadyn with the deeds of enough new land to double his fief. I shudder to think how Merlin got all that land, but it had to have been scary. Lords didn't let go of land without a fight.'
James frowned thoughtfully. 'So did Hadyn release Judith?'
'Well, that's where the story breaks down,' Rose said uncomfortably. 'Austramaddux writes as if his readers already know the rest of the story. I'd guess that whatever happened, it was legend in that part of the world for a long time. Unfortunately, the legend got lost in all the myths and exaggerations in the centuries since. Either way, it looks like it ended badly. I mean, like Professor Revalvier said, Merlin's here with us now, but not the Lady of the Lake. The important thing is, this could explain why people always believed Merlin might have a grudge against the Muggle world. He was trapped by that Muggle lord, Hadyn, humiliated by him, and wasn't even able to have his revenge. To a wizard like Merlin, that's got to be enough to brew up a case of serious hate.'
'Yeah, you couldn't blame him for being really angry,' James agreed, 'but that doesn't mean he'd hate the whole Muggle world. Just because there was one evil Muggle prat, that's hardly reason to go to war against the lot of them.'
'Well, that's what some people believed,' Rose said, shrugging. 'But Merlin himself never actually said so. Officially speaking, he never said anything again. He was never again seen in public, and it's right after that that Austramaddux talks about Merlinus 'leaving the society of men until the time was ripe for him'. It's no wonder people have been suspicious all these centuries.'
'And still are today,' James said pointedly.
'That doesn't mean I agree with everything people have said about him,' Rose replied quietly. 'But it certainly makes one understand how Merlin might have developed a bit of a serious grudge. Love makes people do mad things.'
James sighed. 'I've got a plan, Rose,' he admitted in a low voice. 'I wasn't sure I was going to go through with it, but I am now. I need to clear Merlin's name if I can. I'm going to find out the truth about whether he is involved with those people we saw, and that horrible, er, thing in the smoky cloak.'
Rose narrowed her eyes at James. 'You know something about that thing, don't you?' she asked. 'You're hiding something. Does it have to do with that weird pain you get in your forehead sometimes?'
'What?' James said, startled. 'No! I… er, I don't feel that anymore.'
'Right,' Rose nodded. 'You smacked your forehead and yelled in pain that day outside the Headmaster's office because you suddenly remembered the extra credit answer on your Arithmancy test.'
James deflated. 'Look, yeah, I still feel it sometimes. I don't know where it's coming from. But it doesn't have anything to do with Merlin, all right?'
'Scorpius says you're having bad dreams,' Rose said, looking closely at James.
'Bloody hell, Rose! What's he doing, staying up nights taking notes?'
'He says you've been talking in your sleep and getting all worked up. He can't hear what you're saying, but it always seems to be the same. And it's happening a couple of times a week.'
James glared at Rose, and then looked away. 'Yeah, so what? I hardly ever even remember the dreams. And even when I do, they don't make any sense. There's always a voice talking, and flashing blades, and the sound of old machinery. Someone is walking and I'm following them, but I can't see who it is. And then there's water and some weird faces. So what? It's just a dream. It doesn't mean anything.'
Rose rolled her eyes. 'I know you well enough to know you don't believe that.'
James shook his head. 'Look, I don't know what it's all about. Maybe it does have something to do with the weird pain I get on my forehead sometimes. Cedric… Cedric says he can actually see a scar there. He says it glows green.'
'No!' Rose exclaimed, as if she thought that was the coolest thing she'd ever heard. She leaned in, studying James' forehead. 'Can you see it when you look in the mirror? Does it glow when you turn off the lights?'
'This isn't funny, Rose!' James said, backing away. 'But at least it means I'm not a nutter. If Cedric sees it, then it isn't in my head.'
'Yeah,' Rose agreed. 'Technically, it's on your head.'
James grimaced at his cousin. 'But the point is that this has nothing to do with how I intend to find out the truth about Merlin.'
'How, James?' Rose asked seriously. 'I mean, Ralph's right about one thing: if Merlin is involved with that evil plot, he's one scary character to go up against. He'd have no qualms about getting you out of the way. Let Ralph and me help you, at least.'
James shook his head. 'I don't need help, Rose. Sorry. It'd just get you two into trouble too if we got caught.'
Rose had always been very practical. She nodded solemnly. 'When are you going to do it?'
James' face grew determined. 'Tonight, if I can. If everything goes right, we'll know the truth by tomorrow morning. Wish me luck.'
'You'll need more than luck, you berk,' Rose said. 'I certainly hope you know what you're doing.'
James thought of the way Merlin had found him in the halls, both when he'd been standing guard for the
